Boothbay Fund Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Casella Waste Systems, Inc. $CWST

Key Points

• Boothbay Fund Management increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, owning 89,045 shares valued at about $8.7 million.
• Casella Waste Systems reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.10 consensus estimate and revenue of $457.33 million, up 9.6% year over year.
• Several insider sales were disclosed, including CEO Edmond Coletta selling 12,500 shares and Director Michael K. Burke selling 2,305 shares, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $111.13.

Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,045 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,896 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Casella Waste Systems worth $8,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CWST. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,395 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,789,000 after acquiring an additional 67,749 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the second quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $86.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $118.42. The firm's 50-day moving average is $84.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 782.80 and a beta of 0.77.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The company had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $454.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Casella Waste Systems news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total transaction of $1,119,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,042.88. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.13.

Casella Waste Systems Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Established in 1975, the company has grown from a single-truck operation into a multi-state provider of integrated waste management solutions. Casella offers a comprehensive range of services, including residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, transfer station operations, landfill disposal, recycling processing and organics management.

Through a network of solid waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills, Casella serves communities primarily across the northeastern United States and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.

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